Heat exchange devices using an acoustic effect have been disclosed, for example, in the following Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1.
The device disclosed in Patent Document 1 relates to a device which performs cooling using a thermoacoustic effect, in which a first stack provided between a high-temperature side heat exchanger and a low-temperature side heat exchanger, and a regenerator (second stack) provided between a high-temperature side heat exchanger and a low-temperature side heat exchanger are provided inside a loop tube which seals helium, argon, or a mixture thereof therein, and in which by self-excited standing and traveling waves, which are generated by heating the high-temperature side heat exchanger at the first stack side, the low-temperature side heat exchanger at the regenerator side is cooled.
In addition, as is the case described above, an experimental study of a cooling device using a thermoacoustic effect has been disclosed in Non-Patent Document 1. The cooling device used in this experiment is also formed of a loop tube in which helium, argon, or a mixture thereof is sealed, a first stack provided between a heater (high-temperature side heat exchanger) and a low-temperature side heat exchanger, and a second stack provided at a position facing the first stack. The heater (high-temperature side heat exchanger) provided at the first stack side is heated while tap water is circulated in the low-temperature side heat exchanger so that temperature gradient is generated in the first stack, and a self-excited acoustic wave is generated in a direction opposite to this temperature gradient. Subsequently, the acoustic energy is transported to a regenerator side via the loop tube, and based on the energy conservation law, thermal energy is transported in a direction opposite to the acoustic energy at the second stack side, so that the vicinity of a thermometer provided at the other end side of the second stack is cooled. According to this document, it has been confirmed that under predetermined conditions, the temperature of a part at which the thermometer is provided is decreased by approximately 16° C.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-88378
[Non-Patent Document 1] “Experimental Study on Acoustic Cooling Phenomenon Using Thermoacoustic Effect”, Technical Report of IEICE, US2002-118 (2003-02), authored by Shinichi Sakamoto, Kazuhiro Murakami, and Yoshiaki Watanabe, and published by the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers.